This invention generally relates to a thermal blanket and more specifically to a device and method for regulating the body temperature of a patient.
The control of body temperature of patients is particularly a concern before, during and after surgical operations because an abnormal temperature may affect the stability of the patient under anesthesia as well as the patient""s recovery. One significant issue concerning the control of the patient""s body temperature is hypothermia. Hypothermia in turn leads to complications during and after surgery including: thermal discomfort, impairment of the blood""s ability to coagulate, impaired response by the body to wound infections and in serious situations even congestive heart failure, respiratory failure, or stroke. Loss of heat from the patient can be caused by a variety of factors including: the low temperature of the operating room, lack of insulating clothing on the patient, preparation of the patient""s skin using cold or volatile solutions, and losses from incisions made upon the patient. The problem is compounded by the increased difficulty of the patient""s body to thermoregulate itself during an operation because of the effects of anesthesia. The restoration of normal body temperature is also a concern for patients suffering from hypothermia due to overexposure to cold conditions unrelated to surgery. Thus it is important to warm up the patient as quickly as possible. Conversely, patients who are hyperthermic may require medical intervention to reduce their body temperature to prevent damage to internal organs.
Many solutions have been proposed to minimize heat loss from patients. Some include introducing heat to the patient from an outside source such as the application of pre-warmed hospital blankets. This is an inexpensive, simple solution, but has the disadvantage in that the blankets are merely insulators and the heat introduced by prewarming is quickly dissipated. Blankets which have heated water circulating throughout have also been used with some degree of success. These blankets have an outside source of heat, but are generally heavy and bulky due to the fluid""s weight. Water blankets can also be unsanitary because they are used repeatedly and have a tendency to leak over time.
Another prior art approach to controlling the patient""s body temperature is to increase the operating room temperature or at least the area around the patient using heat lamps. This method has the drawback of overheating of the surgical team which is generally heavily clothed already.
Another approach to regulating patient temperature is through utilization of air circulating blankets and cushions which provide an outside source of heat. One disadvantage of this approach is that dual walled blankets which have an interior chamber for air passage are a physical obstruction due to their inherent thickness. When air is supplied to the blanket, the blanket xe2x80x9cpuffs upxe2x80x9d and may interfere with surgery. If the interior chamber is instead a series of passages, it is difficult to reduce the overall size of the blanket or cut access holes into it without eliminating air flow within an entire passage. Also, prior art air circulating blankets or blanket systems exhaust the heated air around the patient, which then results in overheating the surgical team.
A system having the ability to supply air which will warm or cool a patient and the ability to suction air away from the area around the patient, and which is not obtrusive is desired.
The present invention overcomes these and other disadvantages of the prior art by providing a system which uses a thin, non-obtrusive cover blanket underneath which, air is introduced. The invention provides in one aspect, a surgical blanket system for regulating a patient""s temperature comprising a blanket, a source of air including a blower which blows said air beneath said blanket at a first end, and a vacuum source which suctions said air from beneath said blanket at a second end.
The invention provides in another aspect a device for regulating a patient""s temperature comprising a support cushion having upper and lower spaced surfaces which define an interior chamber containing heat retaining material, said upper surface having one or more holes, and a source of air, connected to an inlet of said interior chamber.
The invention provides in yet another aspect a surgical blanket system for regulating a patient""s temperature comprising a blanket, a source of air including a blower which blows said air beneath said blanket at a first end, and a vacuum source which suctions said air from beneath said blanket at a second end, as well as a support cushion having upper and lower spaced surfaces which define an interior chamber containing heat retaining material, said upper surface having one or more holes, and a source of air connected to an inlet of said interior chamber.
The invention provides in yet another aspect a method for controlling the temperature of a patient comprising the steps of: covering a portion of the patient with a blanket, forcing air from an air source beneath said blanket using a blower, and suctioning air from underneath said blanket using a vacuum source.
These and other aspects of the invention are herein described in particularized detail with reference to the accompanying Figures.